Kryptonite
by Mishiko Shinsei
Summary: Sequel to A Whiter Shade. Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.


Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

_Sequel to **A Whiter Shade** _

_Because of something Miko said… _

**Kryptonite **

_I took a walk around the world to  
Ease my troubled mind  
I left my body laying somewhere  
In the sands of time_

The nurse who called sounded both frantic and excited.

Not a good combination for me to worry over on the long plane ride to Japan.

It had been two years since I'd seen him last. Two years. I hadn't meant to be gone so long, but it couldn't be helped, not with the new baby and my workload doubling due to a gang war.

I still don't know why the hospital called me and not his Aunt and Uncle. I hope nothing's happened to them. They were fine when I called last month.

The moment the plane touches down, I take my carry on and head straight to Seto's hospital. I'll sleep later. I'm too worried to do anything else but see him now. It was bad enough I had to wait a week after the call to leave.

The nurse said that I needed to get there as soon as possible. She'd said more, but with my pitiful Japanese, that's all I could understand.

God, I hope Seto's okay.

Signing in at the front desk, I practically run down to his room, only to find the door open and the room completely empty.

Oh, God. Seto…

"Mr. Turner?" a nurse with a thick accent addresses me from behind.

"Where is he?" I ask, terrified of the answer. She smiles, which instantly calms me.

"He is fine, Mr. Turner. Follow me."

Shakily, I follow her deeper into the asylum, trying not to let the screams of the demented and deranged get to me. Where the hell are we going anyway?

Finally we stop at a set of double doors.

"Ready?" she grins brightly.

What's going on?

"Umm, yeah," I manage, now more curious than worried.

"Brace yourself," she warns before opening the doors to reveal a large room, empty except for the figure in its center, expertly wielding a Bo staff in a complicated kata.

Seto.

Oh. My. God. He's 'awake'. Or back. Or whatever it's called.

"What…? How…?"

"We don't know," the nurse responds to my muttered inquiry. "One morning, the day nurse found his door open and him missing. A search of the grounds found him here with the mop handle. He does this everyday, usually for two or three hours. Then he puts down the handle and begins another set of moves for another hour or so."

"Akido," I whisper to myself.

"And then he goes to the common room to eat and back to his room," she concludes.

I watch his fluid movements and realize, belatedly, that he hasn't once opened his eyes or acknowledged our presence.

"He still hasn't spoke to anyone, but he does glare if you get too close."

"Has anyone told his Aunt and Uncle?"

"They are on vacation in South America, so, frankly you were closer."

"Never thought I'd hear that. An 18-hour flight is 'closer.' But compared to just about anyplace in South America, I guess it is."

Suddenly, Seto stops his kata and puts the 'staff' down.

"He'll start the other routine now," the nurse whispers to me.

"No. He didn't finish the kata. He'd never start a new one without completing the current."

"No, I wouldn't," his clear voice resounds in the room, nearly giving me a heart attack.

"S-Seto?" I stutter, clutching at my chest. The nurse hurries away, probably to get help in case he snaps again. But somehow, I know he's not going to snap. He's not crazy anymore. Well, not as crazy as he was. He opens his eyes slowly and turns to me.

"Valon," he greets with a nod.

I lose my mind.

"Oh my God! You're back," I yell advancing on his stoic form. "I can't believe it! Do you know how much I've missed you man!"

He smiles that tight, little smile he reserved for me in my most obnoxious of moods. A quiet, honest laugh leaves him as I embrace him tightly. I'm surprised to feel the fierceness of his answering hug.

The next few hours are a whirlwind of activity as he goes back to his room and packs up, confiscating a pair of my jeans and a t-shirt, before checking himself out of the hospital _A.M.A_. He orders the staff around like he's always been in charge, getting someone to have a cab pick us up to take us to the best hotel in the city. I just follow along like a lost puppy, jetlag and fatigue assaulting me ferociously.

Even in my haze, I'm awed by the power of this recovered Seto Kaiba. Gone is the lost, lonely young man I knew, replaced by this steely, clear-eyed, survivor. At the hotel, he boldly checks us in under his own name, and then drags me up to the suite he'd gotten us. I don't remember much of the next day as I spend most of it face down in the king-sized bed.

Finally awaking sometime that night, I catch him clacking away on a brand new laptop.

"Back among the living, huh?" he taunts.

"Where are we?"

"Still at the hotel. We can't go back to the manor just yet. I have a lot to take care of first."

"Umm, you do realize that you're still wanted for those murders, don't you?"

He stops typing, hanging his head sadly.

"I-I'm sorry about those others. I didn't want them dead. But they were in my way."

"Seto, you have to go back to the hospital. If the authorities know that you're sane now, they'll come after you."

He smiles as he turns to me, a chilling smile.

"This isn't America, Valon. My trial is ended. My sentence passed. There will be no one hunting me down."

I'm suddenly so angry with him I can't breathe.

"You bastard," I sneer. He has the nerve to look surprised.

"All these years I've worried about you, and your Aunt and Uncle worried about you and you were just FAKING!"

He frowns at me.

"No, I wasn't faking. I didn't want to live in a world without Atem, but I couldn't die or else he wouldn't be remembered. Not as I remember him anyway. In my world, my father was dead, Atem still lived and we were happy."

He looks away.

"I wanted to stay there, but one day, I just…woke up. And I couldn't get back. So I accepted my fate and began strengthening my mind and body to function in the world again.

"The Bo and Akido katas were the last in a series of things I did to cleanse my soul and clear my head. I'd been meditating for weeks as well as doing strengthening exercises. Once they found me that first day doing the complete kata and not the pieces of it I'd practiced in my room, I knew my stay at the hospital would end soon."

He looks back at me.

"I honestly didn't expect to see you, Valon. I thought they'd call Aunt Rei and Uncle Harry."

"They did," I mumble, now ashamed for doubting Seto's pain, "but they're on vacation in South America, making me the closest to you."

"Hn," he smirks, looking down, "Aunt Rei finally talked him into it. She's been clamoring about South America since they were dating. I guess now that they have the money, they could go."

"About that," I interject into his reverie, "What are you going to do now that Kaiba Corp. is gone?"

He smiles that chilling smile again.

"It's not completely gone, Valon. I set up the technology division under a shell corporation named Nalov, Inc. Originally all of the stock would have reverted to your mom's ownership once she reached age 50, but now she'll get 99 percent. The company's doing so well, I can live off of 1 percent of the profits until I decide what I want to do with the rest of my life."

"M-my mom?" I manage.

He smiles that genuine smile at me.

"You didn't think I'd forgotten her, did you?"

I stumble into a nearby chair. Head spinning from all he's saying. Who knew such a generous soul could have come from Gozaboro Kaiba's brutal teachings?

My stomach growls loudly into the ensuing silence.

Seto laughs at me and heads for the room service menu and the phone.

"Nalov?" I question as we enjoy the scrumptious meal of whatever he ordered. "Where'd you come up with that name?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he smirks at me.

"No. Should it be?"

"I guess I was always the brains in this friendship."

"Hey!"

"It's 'Valon' spelled backwards, stupid," he teases, munching something else from the array of food before us. Did he order the whole menu?

"Okay, so I missed that one. So sue me."

"Why? All the money you have is already mine," he sneers.

"It's mine now. Or mine and Katsuya's."

I frown. Atem's family will NOT be happy that Seto's out. What is he going to do now? He's a bit of a persona-non-grata here in Japan.

"You do know you can't go back to the mansion, right," I state slowly.

He wrinkles his brow.

"Why not?"

"Because it's not there anymore."

His eyes widen in surprise.

"Of course it is! We passed it on the way here while you were half asleep."

"I didn't mean the building isn't there, I mean you can't live there anymore."

"You're not making sense."

"Seto, the house was sold. Three years ago."

"Oh."

"Well it's probably for the best that you don't go back there anyway. Bad memories."

"You're probably right," he sighs.

A comfortable silence descends as we finish our meal, Seto eating far more than I've ever seen him.

"Well, I'm going back to bed," I announce, stretching. "You should probably get some sleep too."

"I will. Good night, Valon."

"Night!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I watch him head off into the other room and release the breath I'd been holding.

I have no idea what to do now. I'm free, but what do I do with this new freedom? I have no Yoshi. I have no job. And according to Valon, I don't even have a home anymore. I could go stay with Aunt Rei and Uncle Harry and help run the foundation, but is that a good idea? I left the money to them to run the foundation as they saw fit. How could I just show up now and join them as though everything were fine?

I'm still a murderer.

I still let Atem die.

I still let Mokuba die.

I still couldn't protect my mom.

Getting revenge by killing that bastard Gozaboro can't make up for any of that.

I use the bathroom and wind up staring at my reflection after washing my hands.

My face is even paler than it used to be. I have dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep. And my hair…

Though I remember why they cut it, I hate seeing it this short. Maybe I'll grow it long like Yoshi wanted me to.

My Yoshi.

Gods, I miss him. So much that I want to just curl up and die. But I can't do that. Yoshi would want me to go on. He'd want me to do something with my life, not waste it pining after his memory.

I stumble into the other bedroom, shedding Valon's borrowed clothes as I go. We'll have to go and get me something of my own tomorrow. His stuff is too short and honestly a little tight.

Sliding beneath the cool covers, I revel in the feel of the comfortable mattress.

I don't remember falling asleep, but I do remember waking up. Valon is holding my arms down and saying calming words to me.

"W-what happened?" I breathe shakily.

"I don't know. I heard you screaming 'No' over and over and came in to find you thrashing around. Bad dream?"

"No," I reply sarcastically, "I was dreaming of a white Christmas."

He smirks at me.

"You must be okay if you're cracking jokes."

"I'm not. But I don't want to deal with it right now."

"Fair enough. You wanna watch some TV? It could help you get back to sleep."

"No, that's okay." I reply, getting out of the bed and pulling on Valon's discarded jeans. "I think I'm done with sleep for the night."

"Well, maybe we could just talk for a while them. You have to admit we have a lot to catch up on."

"Sure," I grin at him.

We reminisce, rehash and ramble for hours, the sun catching us both yawning as it streams through the hotel windows.

Chancing that exhaustion with keep any nightmares away, I head back into the bedroom, finding myself enjoying sleep for the first time in years.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That settles it. He can't stay here in Japan. Not anymore.

Rushing into the door of a nearby restaurant, we continue straight through the kitchen and out the back door.

We'd been in the store for a few hours, buying clothes for Seto, and had just stepped out the door when the first reporter thrust the mic into Seto's face.

"Mr. Kaiba, how do you feel about murdering your father and all those innocent people?" She'd asked.

"Mr. Kaiba, do you plan to offer restitution to the families of those people that you killed?" The next threw out.

"Mr. Kaiba, now that you've been released from the psychiatric facility, are you planning to undergo further therapy?" A third launched.

The rest began calling his name incessantly while cameras flashed and video cameras rolled. Seto was frozen to the spot, having been out of the spotlight long enough not to know how to handle it right away. My own limited experience told me we needed to run, so I grabbed Seto's arm and the bags he dropped in shock and ran down the street.

Exiting the restaurant, we head down the alley and flag a cab back to the hotel. Not that it helps us as Seto's decision to check us in under his name unfortunately opened us up to a hotel employee dropping a dime on us. We barely get out of the cab before we're swarmed, but this time Seto's ready for them. Sort of.

"Get the hell away from me!" he bellows in the usual Kaiba style. They back off long enough for us to get into the hotel.

I make it into the elevator before I start laughing. He looks at me like I'm the one who just got out of the nut house.

"What's so funny?" he scowls.

"Did you see the look on that first guy's face? I swear he pissed himself you scared him so bad! And that chick with the tape recorder almost choked on her gum! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

By the time we get into the room, he's laughing with me.

After another large room service dinner and another few hours shooting the breeze, we're both circling the drain and ready for sleep.

I watch him nodding off in the recliner across from me.

I never dreamed I'd get to see him like this again. Not Seto Kaiba, son of the weapons mogul. Not Seto Kaiba, emotionally traumatized teen. Not Seto Kaiba, psychotic killer. Not Seto Kaiba, broken mental patient. Just Seto Kaiba, my friend.

He curls up in the chair asleep and I decide to leave him there, grabbing the blanket from his bed and draping it over him before turning in for the night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I woke up in the chair with the blanket over me. Valon was still sleeping.

I don't know how long I stood watching him before he woke up.

"Shit, man! You scared the hell out of me!" he exclaimed when he saw me at the foot of his bed.

"Sorry," I'd mumbled. And I was sorry that I'd startled him, but not that I was watching him.

Valon is all I have left, now. Soon he'll have to go back home to his wife and family and a job that he loves. I can't ask him to continue to give all that up to spend time with me. He's a good father and husband, not like mine was. He should spend as much time with them as possible. I know it's a strain on his marriage every time he comes here, even if he didn't say it in so many words, his body language gave it away.

He loves Serena so much, but feels obligated to me as his best friend. It's appreciated, but I don't want him to have to make that kind of choice anymore.

"Valon," I begin calmly, stopping him in the middle of a sentence. "It's time for you to go home now."

"I can stay a few more days, Seto."

"No. You need to get back to Rena, Brandon and Celia. They need you more than I do."

"Seto…"

"Go home, Valon. You can't help me now. And I have work to do."

He stands angrily, startling me.

"No, Seto! I'm not leaving you here to fend for yourself again!"

"Valon…"

"NO!" he screams again. "The last time you said that I ended up watching you carve people up on TV! You need to stop trying to handle everything on your own, Seto!"

"You can't possibly believe that you could have done anything to stop me."

"I don't know! Maybe! But I didn't get the chance! You shut me out. Told me to run away 'like a good little boy'. And like an idiot, I did. I knew you weren't all right, Seto, but that day…"

He flops back into the chair dejectedly.

"Despite all the times we'd fought or argued, that was the only time I'd ever honestly been afraid of you, Seto," he admits sadly.

"I don't want to keep you from your family, Valon," I reiterate.

He pierces me with his gaze.

"Then come with me," he suggests earnestly. The idea had never crossed my mind.

"What?"

"You have nothing left here, Seto. If you stay, you'll be hounded wherever you go. At least in DC there's much less of a chance the average person will recognize you. And it's very likely the media won't care about you at all. You'll have a chance at a real life. A life outside of the spotlight. A life as Seto Kaiba, not as Gozaboro's son."

A life as Seto Kaiba. Yoshi would have loved that.

Maybe Valon's right. Maybe I do need to leave Japan. I can always visit my Aunt and Uncle anytime I feel like it. And I won't be reminded as much about Yoshi if I'm not here.

Or Gozaboro.

And maybe the nightmares would even go away.

"Seto?"

I smile at him.

"So when do we leave?"

_I really don't mind what happens now and then  
As long as you'll be my friend at the end_

_-Fin-_

**A/N:** A.M.A. means Against Medical Advice. I assume it means the same everywhere. Also, please credit poetic license with the statement about Seto not having to go to trial or anything. I have no idea if that's hove Japan's judicial system works. For some states in America, if you've been certified legally crazy, then you can't be tried for whatever crime you committed.


End file.
